diamond in the rough

i've been going to work all week not quite sick enough to stay home, particularly with deadlines to meet. i think i caught the "sinus infection" that my dentist's hygienist was telling about while cleaning my teeth the week before, while coughing with that little white cotton mask over her face. ya, i don't think it filters out the germs much, so thanks for that.

somehow i would make it through the day at work, then drag my sorry ass home to bed. to the house away from my mother-in-law, and away from my computer. so basically, i couldn't post if i wanted to, so sorry about that. i really miss playing with my digital garage when i can't get to it. better that i got some rest anyway.

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best part of traveling is the chance to see some different stuff. like this here truck. i've never seen one. it was just distinctive and old enough to catch my eye. and it had an old harley in the bed in a matching paint job. too bad it was parked in the shade.

keep on...

quick post. busy times at work and at home. i'm so tired.

here's another truck. another in a matte finish. or is it primer? anyway, they're a bit different than the standard spit shine trucks, so i'll shoot'em. and the clouds don't hurt neither. not sure if this one belongs to the inland empire dukes club, or just happened to be parked near them.

hoping to hit a few shows this weekend, at least by sunday. supposed to rain tomorrow. and i'm planning on doing nothing but jump on my trampoline after work, then going to sleep early.

yaffe taffy

this is a bike like you've never seen, unless you caught it on AZ highways tv (you'll have to find the one titled "paul yaffe" - can't seem to get the direct link to it. it's a custom harley bagger by bike designer paul yaffe.

can't image that anyone would want to ride it, with the possibility of a dent, a chip, mud, etc., hitting it, but really, what's the point of spending all that cash for a piece of art like this, if you didn't want to be out there for everyone to gawk at. got me to shoot it, and i don't bother with many bikes.

wish they hadn't parked it in the shade, the colors are really incredibly vibrant, and they're kinda muted here. seems like if it wasn't chromed and etched, it was covered with this hand painted imagery. check out these details:

 you thinking what i'm thinking: holy shit!, right?

crackle

i admit that i wasn't going to shoot this car. i had ducked under the overhang to get out of the sun and was contemplating packing up my cameras. the hood was up for one thing, and it was half in and half out of the shade. oh, and the owner was sitting in it with the door open, chowing down on some fries, and perhaps what were the remains of a hot dog.

he made some comment about my hair, i think. something to the effect of how it was so red. i told him it came from a bottle. he asked what color my hair really is, to which i had to say, that it's been so long that i've made it various shades of red or blonde, that i can't say for sure. let's just say, the pictures from high school have me with light or strawberry blonde, and be done with it.

anyway, some other car with flames painted on the hood drove in at that moment, so i was going to follow it to wherever it was parking. unfortunately, after backing into a similar space, half in the shade, the car was instantly surrounded by the crowd, and owner promptly popped the hood, and that was that.

the owner of this car noticed me still standing there, and inquired about my photography. i told him not without the hood down...and he volunteered to close his hood. it's like magic sometimes. my better half has been to shows with me, where a group of guys will wonder aloud why i always pass their cars by, to which he tells them, if the hood is up, she won't even bother. at which point, there is a quick slamming of hoods...lol.

so, since i still had some time before i had to leave, i took several shots, from several angles. had to move at one point, as another car pulled into the empty space next to it. i liked this view, and also another from the front, a vertical shot.

i think he said the paint on this puppy is at least 30 years old, and he for some reason kept apologizing about the chips and cracks in it. i kept telling him, i love it, and it gives it character, i wouldn't change a thing. hell, if it really bothered me, i could kill it in photoshop, but i like it just the way i found it.

i handed him my card. told him i'd post it, if he wanted to see what i did. he asked why/what for? strange question; most people are curious to see their cars here. i guess he was suspicious, maybe that he would have to pay. no, no, nanette. it's here because i liked it, because you took time to chat with me, and tell me a story or two. so thanks for that.

night moves

a quick post. changes at work have given me lots more work to do. add to that trying to get to my kid's baseball games, and i'm feeling stretched pretty thin just now.

had to stop off in long beach tonight on business. tried to find a new car show on the way back home, but yep, another no show. screw it. though i did see some old cars in the parking lot of a public park, but i didn't stop, since i was in a strange neighborhood as it was. parked momentarily in some strip mall to consult my phone for the best route home, and got stared at suspiciously by the asian shop keepers.

i'm tired, and need to get some sleep. hoping to get to a show this weekend, before i forget how to do this thing.

piece of tail

  

i think this truck was one of the last group of cars to enter the show, horns and sirens blaring, look at me, look at me.

i was really just digging the cloud reflections on all the cars, and this truck was no exception in its glossy finish that caught them.

not sure if the owner of this was one of the few guys that stopped to talk with me or not. if he's the guy that i cropped out of the picture, then no, and i don't think i threw a card in the window. oh well.

and the fox tail appeals to me. guessing it has been dyed to have stripes. too orange and full to be racoon. i have several tails from canada, fox and wolf...much too big and pretty to carry around, as well as the old racoon tail that i've had on my key chain for close to 20 years now. it keeps wanting to come apart, as it is drying out now, and i keep sewing it back together. i suppose i'll have to find another. hard to lose your keys with that thing on it. only ones i've seen for sale are thin, pathetic things. maybe i'll get back to canada soon and find a decent one.

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i tried to hit several shows this weekend. two of them were no shows; a third i didn't have the energy left to go to after all, and will try again next month. mr lindsey might need to update his cruise night list. either several that i have tried to hit up are summer only, or they've been cancelled. at least i didn't drive out to them specifically; happened to be in the area, and made the effort to stop. oh well.

blue velvet

can you not see why rainy days make for the bestest images? look at that sky. and that the sun is muted like a big soft box, killing off harsh reflections.

i take pictures of the cars as i find them, but there are times like this, i wish i could move some of that background crap out of the way...it's cluttering up a perfectly fine car picture.

check out the airbrushed picture on the visor of this dodge. skelly banditos. :)

be mine

quick post, since it is that over-wrought hallmark holiday after all.

my better half says it's valentines day every day, but then he also says it's his birthday, so he celebrates every day. these things usually said while he looks into my eyes. may you all be so lucky...

apache turquoise

always looking for an excuse not to have to deal with cleaning the house or running laundry, i found this car show out in riverside, a fundraiser for the arizona middle school. i figured i could at the very least see some new cars.

i was not disappointed. the back field was lined with several inland empire car clubs' collections. i arrived, and just started from the right end of the fence and followed it around the perimeter. didn't shoot every single car, but mainly because half of them had the hoods and trunks open. such fine cars. mostly chevys of various years. but there were also a few newer cars, and some truck club, that i didn't really care about and therefore, totally ignored.

they also had various food and product stands, all selling their wares to collect money for various school clubs. i meant to buy some girl scout cookies from girls pulling a wagon, but didn't want to carry them around while i shot; i forgot to go find them when i was done. oh well. they weren't for me anyway – was going to get thin mints for my mother-in-law – a guilty pleasure for a diabetic.

this wagon was very nice, as proven by the trophies won, sitting in front of it. i don't think i've ever seen one, so i couldn't help from taking a picture of it, even with the back window hatch up. as it's supposed to rain in the next day or two, the sky above made for wonderful down low shots and reflections on all the cars.

i think the owner of this one was victor, one of the few people that bothered to talk to me. handed me a flyer for a show in march. thanks, victor. i hope i can make it there. hope your car won a trophy at this show...the one that was taller than me would probably fit in the back of your wagon.

esprit de l'escalier

“there is no recalling what’s gone and past; so that afterwit comes too late, when the mischief is done.” — l’estrange

i think the french translation refers to the afterthought; the zinger that you should have said at the time, but your brain was too slow to come up with something. i suffer from this half the time. but its that other half that my better half waits for.

oh, the thoughts that went through my mind when i saw this puppy drive up. i'll leave you to imagine.

i took this shot back in september, so i can't quite remember if it was this one, or maybe a panterra that had advertising on the rear window, offering the car up for rent, in case of a mid-life crisis or some other malady. well, you know, what happens in vegas...